Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid

Rating: 3.7/5 stars

A terrific feature for two of Marvel's relatively unsung heroes – Black Widow and Punisher. Black Widow is presented with all her sex appeal, charisma, spunk, and martial arts skills, while Punisher is shown as an eternally laconic cynic with raw muscle power, toughness, and copious amounts of gray shades – just how we've come to love them from the comics. We're also introduced to a new villainous organization (with hints of a possible link to HYDRA) that could make its presence felt in future Marvel outings, even in the upcoming movie ventures. During the climax, the fans are even treated to special appearances from some of the more famous members of the Avengers. The screenplay is very good and keeps us engrossed for the film's short runtime. The animation is more than decent for a direct-to-video offering.

Marvel studios is consistently bringing us memorable tales like these in the form of neat, little videos to accompany their top quality, big- budget, full-length feature films. First is was the two "Ultimate Avengers" videos, then came "Thor: Tales of Asgard", and now this. All in all, this is a thoroughly enjoyable little fare that admirably doffs its hat to two heroes of the Marvel universe that have contributed a lot in the background, but never really been given top billing.